fix(release): latest.json entry per installer type — .deb booths could never self-update

tauri-plugin-updater resolves the download target as {os}-{arch}-{installer}
first (linux-x86_64-deb — the bundler stamps the installer type into the
binary, verified with `strings` on a local .deb) and only then bare
linux-x86_64. Our manifest carried only the bare key, pointing at the
AppImage. A .deb install therefore downloaded the AppImage, verified its
signature, then failed install_deb()'s is_deb check with
InvalidUpdaterFormat — after the download, before any relaunch. This, not
version drift or swallowed errors, is why v0.1.0→v0.1.6 never self-updated.

latest.json now carries linux-x86_64-deb, linux-x86_64-rpm (when built) and
linux-x86_64 (AppImage), each with its own .sig. A .deb update ends in a
polkit password prompt (pkexec dpkg -i) — the intended admin gate on a
root-installed package. README + wiki updated; wiki also records the v0.1.6
LIVE field verification.

Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01FWncR69HgGPuei1dLrW3cU

.gitea/workflows/release.yml

@@ -129,8 +129,23 @@ jobs:
         # The Tauri updater fetches a manifest describing the newest version, its
         # notes, and per-target {signature, url}. The URL points at the MIRROR
         # repo (mca/public_releases) — that's the unauthenticated endpoint field
-        # appliances actually reach; see the workflow header for why. Adjust the
+        # appliances actually reach; see the workflow header for why.
-        # platform keys you actually ship.
+        #
+        # ONE ENTRY PER INSTALLER TYPE — this is what made every in-app update
+        # v0.1.0→v0.1.6 fail. tauri-plugin-updater looks up
+        # `{os}-{arch}-{installer}` FIRST (linux-x86_64-deb / -rpm / -appimage,
+        # from the running app's detected bundle type) and only then the bare
+        # `linux-x86_64`. The booths run the .deb, and the manifest used to
+        # carry ONLY `linux-x86_64` → the AppImage. So a .deb install found the
+        # "update", downloaded the AppImage, verified its signature fine, then
+        # handed the bytes to install_deb(), which checks they're a .deb
+        # (infer::archive::is_deb) and bails with InvalidUpdaterFormat — after
+        # the download, before any relaunch, with the error swallowed client-
+        # side until v0.1.6. Now each installer gets its own signed asset; the
+        # bare key stays for an AppImage install. .deb/.rpm updates run
+        # `pkexec dpkg -i` / `rpm -U`, so the operator sees a polkit password
+        # prompt — intended: updating a root-installed package IS an admin
+        # action on this box (see wiki/decisions/desktop-shell-tauri.md).
         env:
           SERVER_URL: ${{ github.server_url }}
           MIRROR_REPO: mca/public_releases
@@ -138,22 +153,41 @@ jobs:
         run: |
           set -e
           VERSION="${TAG#v}"
-          APPIMAGE=$(cd dist && ls *.AppImage | head -1)
+          ASSET_BASE="${SERVER_URL}/${MIRROR_REPO}/releases/download/desktop-latest"
-          SIG=$(cat "dist/${APPIMAGE}.sig")
+          cat > /tmp/latest.js <<'JS'
-          ASSET_URL="${SERVER_URL}/${MIRROR_REPO}/releases/download/desktop-latest/${APPIMAGE}"
+          const fs = require("fs");
-          cat > dist/latest.json <<JSON
+          const [version, tag, base] = process.argv.slice(2);
-          {
+          const files = fs.readdirSync("dist");
-            "version": "${VERSION}",
+          const pick = (ext) => files.find((f) => f.endsWith(ext));
-            "notes": "Parking System ${TAG}",
+          const entry = (f) => ({
-            "pub_date": "$(date -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ)",
+            signature: fs.readFileSync(`dist/${f}.sig`, "utf8").trim(),
-            "platforms": {
+            url: `${base}/${f}`,
-              "linux-x86_64": {
+          });
-                "signature": "${SIG}",
+          const deb = pick(".deb"), rpm = pick(".rpm"), appimage = pick(".AppImage");
-                "url": "${ASSET_URL}"
+          if (!deb || !appimage) {
-              }
+            console.error(`missing bundle in dist/: deb=${deb} appimage=${appimage}`);
-            }
+            process.exit(1);
           }
-          JSON
+          const platforms = {
+            "linux-x86_64-deb": entry(deb),
+            ...(rpm ? { "linux-x86_64-rpm": entry(rpm) } : {}),
+            "linux-x86_64": entry(appimage),
+          };
+          fs.writeFileSync(
+            "dist/latest.json",
+            JSON.stringify(
+              {
+                version,
+                notes: `Parking System ${tag}`,
+                pub_date: new Date().toISOString().replace(/\.\d+Z$/, "Z"),
+                platforms,
+              },
+              null,
+              2,
+            ) + "\n",
+          );
+          JS
+          node /tmp/latest.js "${VERSION}" "${TAG}" "${ASSET_BASE}"
           echo "latest.json:"; cat dist/latest.json
 
       - name: Create release + upload assets (Gitea API)

apps/desktop/README.md

@@ -44,6 +44,14 @@ see that workflow's header and `wiki/decisions/desktop-shell-tauri.md`). The upd
 signing pubkey live in `tauri.conf.json`; the private signing key is held outside the repo, never
 committed.
 
+**The manifest carries one entry per installer type** (`linux-x86_64-deb`, `linux-x86_64-rpm`,
+and bare `linux-x86_64` for AppImage). The updater picks the entry matching how the running app
+was installed — a `.deb` install will only ever accept a signed `.deb`. Booths run the `.deb`,
+so an in-app update ends in a **polkit password prompt** (`pkexec dpkg -i`): that is expected,
+and it is the right gate — the package lives in `/usr/bin`, root-owned, and the operator is not
+supposed to be able to replace it silently. Cancel the prompt and the app keeps running the old
+version; the failure is logged to the server's Logs viewer.
+
 ## Release gate — run the REAL bundle locally before tagging
 
 `tauri dev` loads the SPA from `http://localhost:5173`, a plain http origin. The shipped bundle

komodo/resources.toml

@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ REGISTRY=git.infra.msai.al/mca/parking_solution
 # Staging booth: pinned immutable stage-<sha>. After each promotion (merge dev → stage, CI builds
 # :stage-<sha>), bump this to the new sha and re-sync/deploy from Core. The moving `:stage` tag
 # exists as the pointer; we deploy the sha, not the mover.
-TAG=stage-5c6a21e
+TAG=stage-8fa66c9
 COOKIE_SECURE=0
 VISION_ENABLED=1
 # Desktop app WS handshake: Origin is tauri://localhost (set explicitly by
@@ -82,7 +82,7 @@ REGISTRY=git.infra.msai.al/mca/parking_solution
 # Staging booth: pinned immutable stage-<sha>. After each promotion (merge dev → stage, CI builds
 # :stage-<sha>), bump this to the new sha and re-sync/deploy from Core. The moving `:stage` tag
 # exists as the pointer; we deploy the sha, not the mover.
-TAG=stage-5c6a21e
+TAG=stage-8fa66c9
 COOKIE_SECURE=0
 VISION_ENABLED=1
 # Desktop app WS handshake: Origin is tauri://localhost (set explicitly by

wiki/decisions/desktop-shell-tauri.md

@@ -399,7 +399,8 @@ a fresh handshake every 10 s (use-live-feed's capped backoff), i.e. every connec
   it as `Authorization: Bearer` (fastify-jwt would accept it) — that puts the session token in JS,
   which HttpOnly exists to prevent; the ticket keeps it out. Verified locally with an 11-case
   handshake script: ticket/no-cookie → 101 + hello; reused/bogus/absent → 401; ticket + bad Origin
-  → 403; cookie path unchanged.
+  → 403; cookie path unchanged. **Field-verified 2026-09-04:** v0.1.6 on the park-2 booth against
+  image `stage-8fa66c9` shows **LIVE** — the first desktop build to do so.
 - **Desktop client logs had never reached `app_logs`.** `logger.ts`'s flush read the CSRF token
   from `document.cookie` (null on desktop — the same jar split as above), so every
   `POST /api/logs` from the desktop 403'd under `requireAuth`→`assertCsrf`, and the flush drops
@@ -420,3 +421,37 @@ a fresh handshake every 10 s (use-live-feed's capped backoff), i.e. every connec
   cookie-jar split *cannot* reproduce in dev mode. The pre-tag gate is now: build the bundle
   locally, run the AppImage against a local server, log in, confirm **LIVE**, do one mutation,
   and confirm a desktop-sourced row appears in the Logs viewer (`apps/desktop/README.md`).
+
+### In-app update never worked: the manifest only described the AppImage, the booths run the .deb (2026-09-04)
+
+Every self-update attempt from v0.1.0 through v0.1.6 ended the same way — prompt, download
+traffic, then nothing, and the same prompt again next launch. The version-sync (v0.1.2) and
+error-logging fixes were real but not the cause. **Root cause:** `tauri-plugin-updater` resolves
+the download target as `{os}-{arch}-{installer}` **first** (`linux-x86_64-deb` here — the
+bundler stamps `__TAURI_BUNDLE_TYPE_VAR_DEB` into the `.deb`'s binary, verified with `strings`
+on a local build), then falls back to bare `{os}-{arch}`. `release.yml`'s `latest.json` carried
+**only** `linux-x86_64`, pointing at the **AppImage**. So a `.deb` install found the update,
+downloaded the AppImage, verified its signature (which was correct — for the AppImage), then
+handed the bytes to `install_deb()`, whose first line checks `infer::archive::is_deb(bytes)` and
+returns `InvalidUpdaterFormat`. Before v0.1.6 that error never reached the server (the desktop
+log channel was itself broken — see the previous section), so it looked like a silent no-op.
+Sources: `tauri-plugin-updater-2.10.1/src/updater.rs` (`get_urls`, `install_inner`,
+`install_deb`), `tauri-utils/src/platform.rs` (`bundle_type`).
+
+- **Fix:** `latest.json` now carries one signed entry per installer — `linux-x86_64-deb`,
+  `linux-x86_64-rpm` (when built), and bare `linux-x86_64` for the AppImage — assembled by a
+  small Node script in the workflow (the `.sig` files for `.deb`/`.rpm` were already being
+  produced and uploaded, just never referenced).
+- **What a booth update now looks like:** prompt → download → **polkit password dialog**
+  (`pkexec dpkg -i`) → relaunch into the new version. The prompt is deliberate, not a wart: the
+  package is root-owned in `/usr/bin`, and under the [[threat-model]] the operator must not be
+  able to replace the app silently; whoever brings the box online for an update is the admin.
+  Cancelling the dialog leaves the old version running and logs
+  `desktop_update_install_failed` to `app_logs`.
+- **Rejected:** switching booths to the AppImage so updates need no privilege. It would work
+  (the updater rewrites the AppImage in place), but the binary would then be operator-writable,
+  it needs FUSE on the appliance image, and launcher/autostart integration becomes manual —
+  three regressions to avoid one password prompt.
+- **Judgment note for the retrospective:** three fixes were shipped against this symptom
+  without reading the updater's install path once. The whole chain is ~60 lines of vendored
+  Rust in `~/.cargo/registry`; it names the exact failure (`InvalidUpdaterFormat`).

wiki/log.md

@@ -2860,3 +2860,16 @@ uses the unauthenticated /health (extended with app: "parking-system") instead o
 plugin does set Origin itself, the http-scope "quirk" is URLPattern default-port semantics) and
 added a local-AppImage pre-tag gate to the desktop README, since tauri dev cannot reproduce any
 of these origin-dependent bugs. Full detail on [[desktop-shell-tauri]].
+
+## [2026-09-04] fix | Desktop in-app update never worked: latest.json described only the AppImage, booths run the .deb
+
+tauri-plugin-updater looks up `{os}-{arch}-{installer}` first (linux-x86_64-deb — the bundler
+stamps the installer type into the binary; verified with strings on a local .deb) and only then
+bare linux-x86_64. release.yml's latest.json carried only the bare key → the AppImage, so every
+.deb install downloaded the AppImage, passed signature verification, then failed install_deb()'s
+is_deb check with InvalidUpdaterFormat — invisible until v0.1.6 fixed the desktop log channel.
+This, not version drift or swallowed errors, is why v0.1.0→…→v0.1.6 never self-updated.
+latest.json now has one signed entry per installer (deb, rpm, AppImage); a .deb update ends in a
+polkit password prompt (pkexec dpkg -i), which is the intended admin gate on a root-installed
+package. README + [[desktop-shell-tauri]] updated. First real test: tag v0.1.7 and accept the
+prompt on the v0.1.6 booth.